A Guide to Applying US Med School with a Foreign Bachelor Degree

[Nezuko21]

Hi @SymphonyNo9 ,
Thank you for your extensive information that is very helpful to us who hold Bachelor's Degree from a foreign country but is a US Citizen. I am in the same situation as you were before. I know your post was years ago, but I was hoping to be able to reconnect with you as I have a few questions to ask. You said you got accepted into medical school in the US. When you did your post bacc program was it from a formal post bacc or DIY? I am currently in a DIY at UCLA Extension. I like it because I still can work full time while studying in the evening. I am not sure if this is fine or I should enroll in a formal post bacc or a special master's program/post bacc. I have been completing the rest of my prerequisites for grad school because my foreign degree which was in Clinical Laboratory Science was lacking some credits to the pre med requirement courses. So I have retaken Gen Chem so far and did Biology for a year in the US both through UCLA Extension and a community college in the US. So far I have like more than 30 semester hours (credits) and still going on as I have to retake O-Chem so I can have more current prerequisites as I have graduated college like a decade now. I am planning to retake Biochemistry and Physiology as well to be more current. Also, I am a Clinical Lab Scientist by profession working full time while studying part time. I have a big clinical experience since I work in one of the top hospitals in the CA. That being said, as a foreign bachelor's degree graduate and working in the healthcare industry in the US for many years, plus taking prerequisites in the US, should this suffice to most schools, or is it better if I do a Special Master's Degree like some of them require for applicants. I know some post bacc programs are like Special Master's Program which you can get a degree afterwards. I am a US Citizen just like you who graduated outside of the U.S. I just don't know how can I be a more competitive candidate like you. I have been thinking a MS in Biomedical Sciences or an online MPH so I can still work full time or just get the Pre-Medical and General Sciences Certificate from UCLA. And last question, I know you probably are a doctor right now, do you mind telling which medical school did you matriculated and accepted you as a foreign graduate student before? Thank you so much for reading my long message. Good luck to everyone who is on their path to a medical career!

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[SymphonyNo9]

Hi @SymphonyNo9 ,
Thank you for your extensive information that is very helpful to us who hold Bachelor's Degree from a foreign country but is a US Citizen. I am in the same situation as you were before. I know your post was years ago, but I was hoping to be able to reconnect with you as I have a few questions to ask. You said you got accepted into medical school in the US. When you did your post bacc program was it from a formal post bacc or DIY? I am currently in a DIY at UCLA Extension. I like it because I still can work full time while studying in the evening. I am not sure if this is fine or I should enroll in a formal post bacc or a special master's program/post bacc. I have been completing the rest of my prerequisites for grad school because my foreign degree which was in Clinical Laboratory Science was lacking some credits to the pre med requirement courses. So I have retaken Gen Chem so far and did Biology for a year in the US both through UCLA Extension and a community college in the US. So far I have like more than 30 semester hours (credits) and still going on as I have to retake O-Chem so I can have more current prerequisites as I have graduated college like a decade now. I am planning to retake Biochemistry and Physiology as well to be more current. Also, I am a Clinical Lab Scientist by profession working full time while studying part time. I have a big clinical experience since I work in one of the top hospitals in the CA. That being said, as a foreign bachelor's degree graduate and working in the healthcare industry in the US for many years, plus taking prerequisites in the US, should this suffice to most schools, or is it better if I do a Special Master's Degree like some of them require for applicants. I know some post bacc programs are like Special Master's Program which you can get a degree afterwards. I am a US Citizen just like you who graduated outside of the U.S. I just don't know how can I be a more competitive candidate like you. I have been thinking a MS in Biomedical Sciences or an online MPH so I can still work full time or just get the Pre-Medical and General Sciences Certificate from UCLA. And last question, I know you probably are a doctor right now, do you mind telling which medical school did you matriculated and accepted you as a foreign graduate student before? Thank you so much for reading my long message. Good luck to everyone who is on their path to a medical career!

Hey,

I did a formal postbacc and fortunately it was all evening courses (some extra courses I took were in daytime). It's not associate with a degree. I did use my mornings to volunteer, shadow, research, etc.

I personally don't think it's necessary to go for a master degree. If that's the way you take your courses, then it's okay. It's not needed to do a master just for the degree itself. When I applied, the number of credits was the most important barrier. However, I believe recently more and more schools are lifting the requirement of certain pre-reqs. I'm not sure if that will affect the number of credits needed, especially for people like us.

If the number of credits requirement is still roughly the same as years ago when I applied, then all you need to do is getting the courses and a good GPA. In addition, getting a good MCAT score is another priority. If you don't have enough volunteering/shadowing/research/etc., then those are needed as well. It's nice that you have lots of clinical experience and hopefully some research/projects under your belt. Emphasize those strengths will be important. I think you're generally on the right track. I'll DM you other detail.

 

[daedelus]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to leave quick note to thank everyone who gave advice on this thread, especially @SymphonyNo9 and @StarDancer!

After several years of preparation and an incredible application cycle, I'm happy to share that I've been accepted to great schools, with many of them in the T20. SDN and this thread in particular have been really helpful in preparing my application. I encourage everyone reading this thread to follow their dreams!

Feel free to DM me if you have questions, especially if you are trying to take pre-med courses while completing a graduate degree. Also, because this application cycle was virtual, I applied to way more schools than I would in a typical cycle (thus I can give you an indication of whether a school responded favorably to a foreign bachelors' degree). My stats were: sGPA 4.0 (32 US undergrad credits) and MCAT in the 5-teens.

Apologies in advance if I don't respond quickly enough

 

[dr.worldwide]

You’re actually in a better situation than I was. Do you have your prerequisites that might be equivalent? The good news is that many schools now don’t require prerequisite course but just general competencies.

I’m off to work. But DM me and I’m send you my list this weekend.

Hi there. What do you mean by general competencies? I'm kind of behind on the requirements for medical school admissions since last time I looked at them, they were mainly by credits. I was also wondering if you would be willing to share your list with me as well?

 

[|A|B|C|InTheMake]

Hi! I hope it's ok to bump this thread. I wanted to ask if any of you who applied with a foreign undergrad degree found that you heard back about interviews or rejections later than other applicants.

I grew up in the US and am a citizen, but I went to college overseas. I then moved back to the US and did a DIY postbacc. I submitted most of my secondaries in mid-late August of this year. Of course I know I'm not entitled to an interview, and it's perfectly possible not to get in anywhere -- but I'm feeling a little weird because at least 4 of the schools I applied to have sent out waves of rejections or holds to people who submitted secondaries in the same timeframe I did, and I've heard nothing, neither rejections nor interview invites.

Before I contemplate pre-II letters (I really don't want to spam), was this anyone else's experience? Is it possible that my application would be in some sort of a "foreign undergrad" bucket that gets reviewed later?

You should be fine as long as prereqs are met. Since you are a citizen, school choice is not limited. The science GPA and cumulative GPA is what is needed for med schools, as it is not comparable with foreign degree; they prefer US degree/prereqs

 

[Hopeisunderrated]

Hey,

I did a formal postbacc and fortunately it was all evening courses (some extra courses I took were in daytime). It's not associate with a degree. I did use my mornings to volunteer, shadow, research, etc.

I personally don't think it's necessary to go for a master degree. If that's the way you take your courses, then it's okay. It's not needed to do a master just for the degree itself. When I applied, the number of credits was the most important barrier. However, I believe recently more and more schools are lifting the requirement of certain pre-reqs. I'm not sure if that will affect the number of credits needed, especially for people like us.

If the number of credits requirement is still roughly the same as years ago when I applied, then all you need to do is getting the courses and a good GPA. In addition, getting a good MCAT score is another priority. If you don't have enough volunteering/shadowing/research/etc., then those are needed as well. It's nice that you have lots of clinical experience and hopefully some research/projects under your belt. Emphasize those strengths will be important. I think you're generally on the right track. I'll DM you other detail.

I have like similar questions, please can you be of assistance to me as well.